Rutgersfest Officially Cancelled
I hate to talk about non-sports-related topics on here but found it necessary. This statement released by President McCormick to all students about an hour ago:
Members of the Rutgers Community:
With regret for the loss of a longstanding Rutgers tradition, and with
admiration for the students who worked hard to plan and run the concert
this year, I have decided that the university can no longer continue to
hold Rutgersfest.
As you may know, the concert this past Friday, April 15, drew tens of
thousands of people to the Busch campus in Piscataway. These included
not only Rutgers students but also many individuals and groups not
affiliated with Rutgers, who learned about Rutgersfest through various
social media channels beyond the university’s control. A large crowd
descended on New Brunswick’s 5th and 6th wards after the concert for a
night of partying. Anticipating this, the University had worked with the
City of New Brunswick in advance to plan for the possibility of
disruptive behavior. Among other steps, we provided for several dozen
additional New Brunswick and Rutgers police officers.
However, even this additional police presence did not contain the
disorder that occurred Friday night and early Saturday morning. Many
streets were congested with people and there were multiple reports of
disruptive conduct. Near the College Avenue campus there were many rowdy
student house parties, incidents of public intoxication, littering, and
vandalism, and several altercations among students and other
individuals. Most disturbing to report, four non-Rutgers people were
shot in three incidents during the course of the evening. The fact that
none of these shootings resulted in life-threatening injuries does not
diminish their violence, and I am gravely concerned about the danger to
our students and our neighbors.
I understand that the decision to end Rutgersfest will disappoint many,
and I want to thank the students and administrators who organized the
concert, working hard to promote responsible behavior and to make it a
safe and enjoyable experience. But the safety of our university
community, and that of our neighbors, is paramount, and we cannot risk
further danger or the possible loss of life. The problems that occur
following Rutgersfest have grown beyond our capacity to manage them, and
the only responsible course of action is to cancel the event.
Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
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Is anyone really surprised by this? I just got that email too but literally had no feeling one way or another when reading it. This was inevitable.
I really couldn’t see McCormick doing anything other than canceling the event. All of the problems stem from parties after the concert, not during. Unfortunately there’s no way to regulate who comes on campus and who they “keep out.” This was the best move. It was pretty unnerving waking up at 4am to texts from the RUPD saying “avoid college ave, gunman at large.”
And let’s be honest; students will find another day to center a day around partying and drinking. Glad I’m a senior and on my way out.
I totally agree
I personally don’t care too much because I don’t care for the music and really don’t think we need an excuse to binge drink for an entire day, but though Rutgersfest is a good idea in theory, the risks greatly outweigh the rewards. Say what you want, but McCormick and Co. absolutely did the right thing.

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